Chapter 695: Happiness Called Life
The elevator smoothly arrived at the 29th floor, emitting a soft “ding.” The metal doors slid open, and Satou Shinichi stepped out.
Soft sunlight seemed to filter through the window at the end of the corridor, outlining the young boy’s tall figure. He had changed into a clean white t-shirt, but his hair ends were still slightly damp. Faint traces of sweat from his training, not yet completely faded, were visible on his neck and arms. For such intense afternoon training in this weather, even after showering and changing, the body’s residual heat and vibrant post-exercise aura were hard to dissipate immediately.
However, there was no fatigue in the young boy’s eyes. His blue eyes shone with astonishing brilliance, as if filled with shattered stars, pure and brimming with fervent excitement and joy. The thought of the person behind the door, the thought of the person behind the door, made the soreness and hardship accumulated throughout the afternoon seem to vanish like smoke.
He walked to the door of room 2903, a little embarrassed as he wiped his hands, which might still have carried dust or sweat, before raising his hand and gently knocking.
“I’m here,” he said.
A response came from the girl inside, her voice characteristically clear and aloof, as simple as ever. Then, a series of light footsteps approached from a distance.
Satou Shinichi’s heart involuntarily quickened, and a smile of anticipation and radiance bloomed on his face. The lock made a slight “click,” and the door was opened from the inside.
“Kazumi, I’m back!”
The young boy’s expression overtly conveyed undisguised delight and eagerness as he greeted her. For him, indeed, what could be more hạnh phúc than returning to a home where someone was waiting after enduring a whole afternoon of arduous training? Even if it was just a temporary home, being able to immediately see the person he loved was the greatest happiness.
However, as the room door slowly swung open, fully revealing the girl’s appearance inside, the brilliant smile on Satou Shinichi’s face froze instantly. It was replaced by extreme astonishment. He involuntarily widened his eyes, and the words that followed died in his throat.
“Uh, Kazumi, you…!”
The small, jet-black-haired girl standing inside was wearing an ordinary light beige apron over her simple clothes. Impossibly, she wore a bright red apron. The apron was clearly oversized, covering almost half of her upper body. In the center of the apron was a cartoon dragon breathing flames, its design playful yet a little domineering—a clear indication of the girl’s unique personal choice.
This overwhelming sense of “wife material” in the air clashed fiercely and mixed with the girl’s inherently cold and aloof maiden aura, creating an intensely strong, indescribable contrasting beauty. The scene was so impactful that Satou Shinichi’s mind instantly crashed. His heartbeat seemed to skip a beat at that moment. He even forgot to breathe, his eyes fixed on Kazumi, who was completely beyond his imagination.
At this moment, time around the young boy seemed to slow down, as if just to allow him to look more closely. The girl’s jet-black long hair was tied up casually, but a few strands playfully dangled on her forehead. On top of her head, a few unruly hairs stubbornly stood up, swaying gently with her movements. Her originally fair and flawless cheeks were now tinged with a faint rosy hue. A fine, dewy sheen of oil coated her nose and forehead, clearly the result of the steam from the kitchen. On the red cartoon apron, a few fresh oil stains and watermarks could be seen.
What shocked Satou Shinichi the most was that her right hand held a gleaming spatula, seemingly still stained with a bit of sauce. It was evident that she had rushed to open the door mid-cooking. Satou Shinichi knew that Kazumi could cook; after all, when they used to eat bento together at noon, the girl often brought dishes she made at home.
But knowing was one thing; he had never seen her busy in the kitchen for him. Even more unexpectedly, on the first day of arriving in Minami Kōchi City, as he finished training and returned home, he would actually witness this scene—her wearing an apron, holding a spatula, like a little wife waiting for her husband to return home, preparing a meal for him in the kitchen.
An unprecedented, burning, and boundless sense of happiness erupted from the deepest, softest part of his heart like an avalanche, instantly sweeping through his limbs and bones. The intense warmth hit his nasal cavity and eye sockets, making the tip of his nose involuntarily sting, and a trace of imperceptible redness quickly appeared at the corners of his eyes.
This feeling of being so cherished and attentively cared for by the person he liked was beautiful to the point of being almost unreal.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
However, Kazumi, standing before him, seemed to have no time to fully decipher the fierce emotional tsunami raging within Satou Shinichi. She frowned slightly, her tone carrying a hint of impatience and obvious urgency. She even subconsciously glanced back towards the kitchen.
“Come in quickly, our food isn’t done yet!”
Saying this, she didn’t even wait for Satou Shinichi’s response. She reached out, grabbed his arm, and with some force, pulled the young boy, who was still愣 at the doorway, inside. Then, she immediately let go, and without another word, she quickly turned around, holding the spatula, and hurried back to the kitchen. Her figure quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
Left alone at the entrance, Satou Shinichi felt the slight warmth and a hint of oil residue from the girl’s grip on his wrist. He stared blankly in the direction she had disappeared, as if the air was still filled with the appetizing aroma of food wafting from the kitchen.
After a few seconds of stillness, an indescribable, extreme sense of satisfaction and joy bloomed on his face like a cherry blossom. The smile grew bigger and bigger, his blue eyes becoming brighter and warmer, even carrying a hint of foolishness. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly, shaking his head and bending down to change his shoes, his chest filled to the brim with an emotion called “happiness,” almost overflowing. He also moved towards the kitchen, following the enticing aroma.
To the side of the living room was an open-plan kitchen, separated only by a thin glass door, designed specifically to keep out kitchen fumes. The girl’s small figure was still busy in the kitchen, steam rising from the stove. Through the glass door, the sizzling sounds of cooking could be heard.
Satou Shinichi walked in gently and came to the dining table next to the kitchen. Several dishes were already on the table, simple in style but emitting a tempting aroma. They were all Kazumi’s specialty Huaguo dishes. The stir-fried pork with green peppers, which the young boy often ate in his bento, was among them. It gleamed on the built-in warming plate, the tender green peppers interwoven with tender slices of meat. Just looking at it made one’s mouth water.
Just then, the kitchen glass door was pushed open, and a richer aroma wafted out. Satou Shinichi looked up and saw Kazumi walking out with a bowl of steaming tomato and scrambled eggs. A faint blush from cooking lingered on her face, a few beads of sweat on her forehead. Her usually cold tone had become a little lighter.
“Why are you standing there? Wash your hands and eat, everything is ready.”
